The Heat of the Stars
by MixBerkaan
Summary: Six years, four championships, four anniversaries, and one 3 year old after that first Grand Magic Games, Natsu and Lucy return once again to what has become an annual ball hosted by the royals of Fiore, their daughter, Nashie, in tow. However, Lucy is Lucy and Natsu is Natsu. Combine the two and you're sure to have an interesting little girl who asks the strangest questions.


Swirling colors, flickering lights, music notes spinning through the air. The little girl was entranced at the sight. Her head swiveled back and forth as she tried to see everything at once from her vantage point on her papa's shoulders.

"Papa, papa!" she cried, hands fisting in his hair like a horsemen would hold his reins, "Do all balls have that much food?" Her young eyes had finally caught sight of the buffet table, a particular location her father was eyeing with interest as well.

To the side, a sigh was heard. "You really are your father's daughter. Natsu, I'm going to go find Levy, would you please make sure Nashi eats at least some real food before letting her have dessert?" Lucy asked her husband of four years.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll give her some fire and then she can have all the cake she wants!" the dragon slayer exclaimed, tilting his head back to share a conspiratorial grin with his daughter. While Nashi giggled and nodded, Lucy simply gave a resigned sigh. Leaning up, she pressed matching kisses to her dynamic duo's cheeks.

"I'll be back soon, stay out of trouble. Natsu, that means _not_ stealing the kings crown!" she said, giving him a glare that was only halfway joking before wandering off in search of her best friend.

Six years and four championships after that first Grand Magic Games, the Fairy Tail guild had once again been invited to the palace for the celebration that was well on its way to becoming tradition.

Natsu carried his daughter over to the food table, responding to her chatter with an ease born of long practice. Reaching for a plate, he felt himself smirk a little in amusement as Nashie squealed with excitement and began to point to all the dishes that looked appealing to her. Truly his offspring.

Dinner was a relatively exciting affair, as it tended to be whenever Natsu was involved. As they ate, numerous mages from Fairy Tail and other guilds alike came over to say hello. While many had met Nashie before, they were still eager to see how she had grown in the last year.

Finally, the food finished, Natsu swung his little girl up under his arm, only halfway paying attention to her shrieks of laughter. He said his goodbyes, made a few jokes, and left to find Lucy. He had finally learned to at least respect the itineraries Lucy liked to plan, even if he didn't always follow them.

It was fairly easy to track her across the room, her scent being permanently ingrained in his nose. He craned his neck upwards as her scent grew stronger, trying to catch sight of her. And there she was, talking with Levy and Gajeel over near one of the walls. He looked down and caught Nashie's eyes, holding his finger over his lips in a silent command to be quiet. She giggled and clasped both hands over her mouth to show her agreement and Natsu turned to sneak up on Lucy.

Lucy, for her part, was enjoying her conversation with the couple, periodically reaching over to play with little Sophie who sat on her mother's lap and Jareth who was nestled, asleep, in his father's arms.

Suddenly, she was alerted by the tiny giggle before an arm slipped around her waist. Smiling, she turned her head to give the kiss her husband was searching for.

Gajeel made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. "Married four years and you two still haven't gotten over your honeymoon stage. It's embarrassing."

Natsu pulled back and grinned as he handed Nashie to Lucy, "Well, judging by that runt in your arms, you're not one to talk Iron Breath."

"Sophie," Nashie squealed excitedly, ignoring the arguing dragon slayers, "Let's go play!"

Lucy and Levy shared faintly amused looks, but Lucy was distracted as her daughter tugged on her dress.

"Mama?" She asked, "Why does Sophie have a baby brother but I don't? Can we go get one tomorrow?"

Lucy blinked before a blush crossed her face. Natsu, who seemed to have made his temporary peace with Gajeel, hooked an arm around her shoulders and leaned down. He tilted his head and put a very innocent look on his face, much to Lucy's consternation.

"Yeah, Luce, why _doesn't_ she have a baby brother? I'd say we're failing in the parental department and we should probably get on that." he teased her.

Lucy struggled to find words, but the laughter radiating from Levy and Gajeel, and the heated promise in Natsu's eyes succeeded in flustering her beyond all repair. Finally, she wrinkled her nose at her husband and stood.

"Levy, let's go find Asuka and Bisca. I think I remember them saying they were going to be watching the kids since Bisca can't dance seven months in."

Levy, still chuckling a little, stood up as well. "We'll be right back, don't wander off...and don't start any fights!" she said firmly. Gajeel just gave a wink.

"Wouldn't think about it, shorty," he said, inclining his head down towards his son.

The girls wandered off, weaving through the dancers and the socialites alike.

"So, Lucy, Nashie had a point," Levy began, a teasing light in her eyes, "Is she ever going to get a little sibling?"

Lucy stuck her tongue out at her best friend, "You know, I was even thinking about it, but now maybe I won't just to be perverse!"

"Aww, Mama!" Nashie exclaimed, sticking her lip out in the pout she had been quick to discover worked wonders on her papa. Mama, on the other hand, was a little more immune. Snorting a little, Lucy poked Nashi's cheek.

"Don't you worry about it, girlie," she said with a small smile, "If you do get a little sibling, you'll have to wait a while anyway."

Mutual cries of "Aww" filled the air as both Nashie and Sophie expressed their disappointment.

"Don't worry, Nashie," Sophie said, holding one arm across the gap between their mothers, "I had to wait a long time for Jath, too. It's fun, though!"

Levy waggled her eyebrows at Lucy suggestively, "Well, there you have it. There seems to be a consensus for Nashie to have a sibling, and I can't help but think you and Natsu won't mind the process much." she teased.

Lucy blushed and stuck out her tongue again, but she refrained from saying anything as they found Asuka and Bisca who were surrounded by the children who would make up the next generation of Fairy Tail Mages.

The pair dropped off their respective daughters, smiling as they ran off to greet and join in with the others, and chatted with Bisca for a few minutes before returning to their waiting husbands.

To Lucy's surprise, Natsu quickly whisked her off to the crowded dance floor. Normally he avoided the place at any and all costs. In spite of herself, the blonde couldn't help but be suspicious of his intentions. Natsu grinned down at her, and Lucy found herself hesitantly smiling in return, unable to resist the contagiousness of his grin.

They danced for a while, and, over time, Lucy relaxed. Occasionally he would brush a hand or an arm over her rear or breast and she would raise an eyebrow at him, to which he would respond, yet again, with his oh-so-innocent-grin. He did this sort of thing rather often, to be fair. Though they had calmed down a little ever since Nashie was born, Natsu and Lucy still very much enjoyed the benefits of a sex life, and Natsu enjoyed taking every opportunity to remind them both of that.

Chatter was exchanged between them, occasionally they would pause to talk to greet old acquaintances, but they spent the majority of their time dancing in peace and quiet (which, of course, did very little to take away the niggling thought at the back of her mind that he was up to something).

Finally, sweat starting to drip down between her breasts in a most uncomfortable feeling, Lucy tilted her head. "Natsu, can we go sit down?" she asked, unconsciously reaching a hand up to straighten the tie he always managed to loosen.

"Yeah, sure," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Lucy instantly felt her suspicious rise once more.

'_What could he be up to?'_ she thought, '_He already knows that he is absolutely forbidden to go near the king's crown..._' her thoughts trailed off as he grabbed a glass of water and pressed it into her hand before leading her outside into the cool night air.

Finally deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt in light of the breeze quickly washing away the sweaty clammy feeling present inside the ballroom, Lucy sat down next to Natsu on a bench and leaned into his shoulder. Without any hesitation, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer into his side. Between the heat he naturally generated and the chill in the air, Lucy managed to quickly find a very happy medium.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Natsu broke it, as he tended to do. "So, Luce," he said.

"Hmm?" she responded as she took a sip of her water.

"Nashie wants a little brother, eh?" He asked, grinning down at her and no longer trying to hide the mischief in his eyes.

Lucy jumped and starting coughing as the water slipped down the wrong pipe.

"Luce?" Natsu said again, turning to hold her as the mischief turned quickly to concern.

After finally getting herself under control, Lucy turned and glared at him. "You just _had_ to say that as I took a sip of water? You idiot!"

Gathering that if she was well enough to insult him, she would be alright, Natsu grinned again and kissed her cheek. "So?" He continued on as if the water incident had never happened, "Should we grant our daughter's current dearest wish? Before she, oh I don't know, decides her newest dearest wish is to bungee jump off the cathedral?"

"Wait, why would she want to bung- Natsu, what did you say to her?"

Natsu laughed nervously and quickly moved on, "Nothing, nothing, anyway, I don't know about you, but I think this is a good idea."

Lucy rolled her eyes and made a mental note to firmly tell Nashie she wasn't jumping off anything soon before looking back at Natsu, "Alright, so say it is. Now it begs the question, can we handle another kid?"

"Begs the question? What? Nevermind. I say we've done just fine with Nashie, and another kid would be fun."

"Yeah, but you won't be the one pregnant for close to 10 months and eventually going into labor."

"Alright, what if I promise to get you anything you ask for? And I'll take care of the kid for the first 3 weeks he or she is here"

Lucy had to laugh, "Natsu, a kid isn't a dog you can bargain on caretaking shifts with. But, you know," she said, staring into the sky, "I kinda want another kid. Being an only child can be a bit lonely, after all, even with all the other kids at the guild."

Natsu let out a whoop and jumped up. Turning around, he grabbed her wrist and began to pull her further into the garden

"Natsu! What are you doing, idiot?" Lucy exclaimed

"Well, what better time to start than the present?" Natsu said, looking at her over his shoulder.

Lucy sputtered, "You mean right now? But everyone is right inside!"

"Aww, come on, Luce," he said as he pulled her into some bushes. Wrapping his arms around her, he leaned down and kissed her neck, "I'll be able to smell if anyone comes,"

Lucy closed her eyes and, almost against her will, her head fell back to expose more of her neck, "And what if Nashie needs us?" she asked, at this point protesting more for the sake of argument than anything.

Natsu nibbled at her collarbone, "We just dropped her off with Bisca and the kids a little while ago. She won't be wanting us for at least an hour or more."

"But-"

"Luce?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," and with that, he reached behind her and began to pull the zipper on her dress down, exposing each inch of her tantalizing chest bit by bit.

Lucy groaned, but couldn't help the anxious glances she cast into the shadows that surrounded them.

"Luuceee," Natsu whined, causing her to look at him, "trust me," His voice dropped as he kissed her, a low growl of pleasure escaping his throat into her mouth. Pulling back, he grinned at her. "Besides, any idiot who decides to interrupt a dragon slayer in the middle of having sex with his beautiful wife deserves whatever pain he gets."

Lucy laughed and finally relaxed as she pulled his lips back to hers.

Natsu wiggled happily as he filled his palms with her breasts, enjoying the plush feel of them in his grasp.

Lucy groaned a little and quickly undid his tie, much to Natsu's relief. Button by button, she undid his shirt, running her fingers beneath the fabric. Natsu sighed happily, not having enjoyed the feeling of the starched material against his skin and quickly shrugged out of it before returning his attention to her chest.

Swirling colors, flickering lights, music notes spinning through the air. The panting couple on the ground were deaf and blind to it all. All they knew were each other and the sweat that dripped into the cool grass. They spiraled higher and higher into the starry sky, and didn't return to earth until they were spent and exhausted.

* * *

><p>Nearly ten months later, the cries of a baby filled the air.<p>

"Congratulations, it's a girl!" the doctor cried as she handed the newly born to anxious father standing beside his wife.

Despite her exhaustion, Lucy laughed. "Looks like Nashie didn't get the little brother she was hoping for," she pointed out.

Natsu looked up from where he was fawning over his newest baby girl and gave Lucy that wicked smirk she was quite used to.

"Well," he said, "looks like we'll just have to keep trying."

Lucy rolled her eyes, but a small smile escaped onto her tired lips. "Whatever, Natsu. We'll talk about it later." And with that, she passed into a well-earned slumber.

Her husband smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead, heedless of the sweat that dotted her brow, the flyaway hair, and her pale, tired complexion. She would always be the prettiest person he knew. Suddenly he frowned at his daughter.

"Shit, Luce'll kill me if I name you without her." Casting slightly panicked glances between his sleeping baby and sleeping wife, he edged carefully towards the bed.

"Luce?" he asked, reaching out to shake her shoulder a little. She groaned and swatted him away, but he persisted. "Luce, she doesn't have a name, and that stupid piece of paper needs to be signed."

Growling, a habit she had picked up from her impatient husband, Lucy roused herself from sleep and tiredly glared at Natsu. "What about Sarah? And you can choose her first name?"

Natsu grinned, "Well, what about Fyra?"

Lucy sighed, "Fyra Sarah? That sounds ridiculous, try again."

Natsu frowned, deep in thought, before he smiled. "I have one."

"What is it?"

"You'll just have to trust me," he said as he gave her a kiss.

Too tired to protest, really, Lucy slipped quickly back into sleep. Walking over to the doctor, Natsu signed the certificate and took care of all the leftover details save one. After the doctors extracted a promise from him to return his daughter in a few minutes, Natsu walked out into the corridor in order to introduce the newly born Layla Sarah Dragneel to her big sister and her numerous aunts and uncles.

* * *

><p><strong>ANNNNNNNNND this was the last one shot i wrote for the NALU Love Fest. Hopefully I'll get my act in gear and actually update my other stories soon! Though, with an awesome beta like cinnamon helping out, it might actually get done!<strong>

**I kinda wanted to pull some heart strings and sorry for the lack of nitty gritty for all those perverts like me out there. After writing smut for the previous 3 days, I was a little lemoned out, so decided to go with the sweeter side of their relationship; specifically those moments Natsu tends to have where he thinks of the most thoughtful things when no one is looking simply because he wants to make Lucy happy *coughcoughrainbowsakuratree***

**anywho, hope you all have a nice day! And, if you really like my story(ies) please feel free to leave a favorite or a review! I really appreciate each and every one I get!**


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